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Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

Hi Friends!

I have taught myself Fedora (Linux) by reading books (which hardly seem to help), official documentation (which is much better than books, but difficult to understand without experience at times), watching YouTube videos and asking questions on this very forum. Is there any other option, which I should explore?

Thanks a lot.

Dear Admin,

If I have place this thread in a wrong sub-forum, please feel free to move it to the relevant place and also accept my apology in advance. Thanks.

Is a CS degree must

Hi Friends!

A couple of weeks ago, I bumped into a high school friend after many years and we discussed our careers. He is currently works in a data center and does Linux system administration. He thinks that having a computer science (CS) degree does not really guarantee you a job in the IT industry. It is more hands on approach there. He was trained by a senior in handling Linux servers. He never had a CS degree, but he know a whole lot more about Linux than I ever did.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

Any technical education where computers support or business support is a big big plus.

Are you interested in network management?
Are you interested in Software Development?
Are you interested in Appliction support (Enterprise Resource Planning -- SAP or other major ERP software)?
Are you interested in Medical software engineering?
Are you interested in Customer Support / data recovery?
Are you interested in vehicle software engineering?
Are you interested in hardware and embedded systems?
Are you interested in Applied mathematics (Statistics, queuing theory, network design, capacity planning or more)?

A good computer science degree will open doors to all of the above and more.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

There are no guarantees in life or getting a job. However a degree in CS/Engineering will certainly open more doors for possibilities of a job in a field you may be interested in. So yes it is helpful. When I was hiring for positions in my software group, the first requirement was to have a CS BS degree and some background in physics/electronics/math/tech writing (not an EE degree type background, just some exposure at least). I wasn't interested in 'excel/vb/access' type of CS degree either. A course transcript was required as part of coming to the interview. If you were dedicated enough to get through 4/5 years of college, it showed you probably will be dedicated to working too (not always, but probably) . Having the background (knowing what a linked list is, binary tree, do a straight line conversion, figure out a polynomial to fit some data points, or an resistor, etc.) saves a lot of on-the-job training as there will be enough of that anyway!

I found the best why of learning something is to 'use it'. Books give the background (and our great resources), but hands on cements the concepts in the mind. In the case of the Linux OS, install it (whatever flavor), and just use it in your everyday life. Need a printer? Figure out how to set one up. Need to install an application? Setup a static IP? . Add a data disk to system? Need to share a folder with your Windows Laptop? Dig in and setup SAMBA. Communicate with another Linux box, then setup/use NFS. Learn how to use rsync to backup a folder.. That sort of thing. Try to do things from the command line (make directories, change permissions, add users, mount disks, etc.). That will get you familiar with every day commands and learn more of what makes Linux tick from the underside, so to speak. Doesn't mean you have compile the kernel and dive that deep, or anything like that. Just the basic every day tasks that you want/need to do. One advantage we have today that I didn't have in my youth was the internet. Get stuck now you can 'google/duck duck go' it.... Someone in the world usually has run into the same problem along the line! My day we had to use books or network with our group to figure it out. Worst comes to worse try to call someone.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

rclark wrote about learning linux:

and just use it in your everyday life

which reminded me of: "if you don't use it, you lose it" ... which was the case with me in relation to using some programming language syntax and plenty of cli. The memory of the concepts remained, but the details always needed a refresher if they hadn't been used for some time, sometimes years.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

The best way to learn Fedora and Linux in general is to use it as your daily driver OS. Delete your Windows partition and don't look back. Sure, it'll be tough, but by having to troubleshoot everything for your own system is by far the surest way to beat the knowledge into your head.

If you have the resources, set up a virtual lab. I set up kvm/qemu on a secondary machine at home, and I have given myself assignments to do, like build a whole FreeIPA domain. I used that experience as practice before setting up my home network entirely with FreeIPA, bind9, and dhcpd (well, not dhcpd in the lab). Give yourself assignments and due dates.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

Originally Posted by bgstack15

Delete your Windows partition and don't look back.

Usually I wouldn't disagree with deleting Windows, but for someone fairly new to Linux I'd suggest leaving Windows there as a backup plan, if you accidentally wipe your Linux at least you have somewhere to fall back to if you urgently need to write a document.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

Originally Posted by HaydnH

Usually I wouldn't disagree with deleting Windows, but for someone fairly new to Linux I'd suggest leaving Windows there as a backup plan, if you accidentally wipe your Linux at least you have somewhere to fall back to if you urgently need to write a document.

Without disagreeing here, it's nonetheless still possible to run linux from live media, perhaps use a usb to store data, and still be able to get things done in an emergency from linux.

Re: Best way to learn Fedora and Linux

Without disagreeing here, it's nonetheless still possible to run linux from live media, perhaps use a usb to store data, and still be able to get things done in an emergency from linux.

True, but that was only an example of why I'd recommend a Windows user considering Linux keeping Windows around as a backup instead wiping it. Let's say a job pops up you wish to apply for and the Word version of your CV looks awfully formatted in LibreOffice, you either have to send it as it is or rewrite it before you can apply by which time it could be too late. Or perhaps your young nephews pop over and really want to play whatever Windows only game they really loved playing last time they were there. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons. Anyway, HDD capacity is cheap these days, what's a Windows partition matter space wise? Eventually when you've used Linux for a while without needing Windows maybe it's time to wipe it.